Now this is superb subject matter for a play, and it’s surprising no one has thought of it already.
Stand Laurel: Please Stand Up! is currently touring and stars Bob Kingdom - tonight it is on at Tewkesbury’s Roses Theatre.

Described as “funny and touching” the play explores Stan Jeefferson’s transformation into Stan Laurel, as well as covering boat rides with Charlie Chaplin and getting eight marriages to four women. Laurel’s daughter Lois Laurel-Hawes has also been involved in the play, while Kingdom’s previous shows have included performances as Dylan Thomas in Dylan Thomas: Return Journey and Truman Capote in The Truman Capote Talk Show.

Playing tonight - July 10th - tickets vost £11.50, £10.50 for concessions and £6.50 for students and children under 16.

Call Rose Theatre box office on (01684) 295074 for more information.

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Not before time, the BBC are running a tribute to the long running classic sitcom Dad’s Army, set during World War Two.

Jonathan Ross Salutes Dad’s Army will be, it seems, hosted by Jonathan Ross, and will include some of the series’ stars, creators and celebrity fans.  The series originally ran from 1968 to 1977, and has been repeated almost constantly since then.  Dad’s Army featured the superb casting of Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring and John Le Mesurier as Sgt Wilson, while Clive Dunn  also starred as Corporal Jones. Creators Jimmy Perry and David Croft wrote It Ain’t Half Hot, Mum.

Interestingly, producers of the one-hour special want to hear from fans of the TV comedy and anyone who met the cast and crew.  Annoyingly the BBC webpage doesn’t indicate how you can contact the producers…

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The loss of Humphrey Lyttleton recently has prompted the BBC website Magazine to splash out on a quick appreciation on the art of innuendo.

And it’s not before time, either - I’ve been literally begging for something fruity to get my hands on, with the majority of the content here being about as much use as a whore in a waxworks.

So with a warm glow inside and a knowing wink, the article points newcomers to the art of double entendre to a sexy picture of Denise Van Outen, a nice video clip of Humph on stage with the ISIHAC team, as well as some audio only material in which we listen to the wonderfully filthy references to the I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue scorer Samantha; and references to Benny Hill, Max Miller and Frankie Howerd.

Plus there’s some nice observations from the public, who recall the great Round the Horne, as well as Radio 1 DJs Mark and Lard.

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The Curse of Comedy series on BBC Four ended last week with David Walliams as Frankie Howerd in Rather You Than Me, and it was a bleak portrait of a very funny man, plagued by self doubt, self loathing and nerves, stemming it seemed from a period of abuse from his father during childhood.

The series has been about the dark side of some of the most popular stars in comedy and entertainment, and despite the success with which The Curse of Steptoe and Son replicated the bitter-sweet undercurrent of the actual series I do feel that Rather You Than Me presented us with a telling portrait of stardom, homosexuality and devotion.

Walliams was justifiably lauded as Frankie Howerd, while Rafe Spall was excellent as his partner Dennis Heymer.

I’m sure that Frankie could not have been so terribly unhappy for his whole life - there’s no way he could have managed to work - however in the context of the film it is reassuring to know that Dennis and he remained together until the end, despite one another.

A bleak portrait, superbly played.  I hope the BBC treat us to a further series.

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By far and away the most interesting instalment of BBC Four’s Curse of Comedy season is tonight’s final instalment, “Rather You Than Me” which as you may now stars David Walliams as Frankie Howerd.

That isn’t to denigrate the other films – in particular the Tony Hancock and Joan le Mesurier tale was something I had never heard of before, and I found it fascinating to watch.  It has been a great series, but I feel that that in terms of cultural icons, Howerd is the most enduring figure of them all.

So turn on, tune in and titter ye not – although bearing in mind much of the content, this will be an interesting profile of a closet homosexual who became one of Britain’s best loved comic actors, I expect there will be more tears than laughs.

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Let’s call it “Frankie Howerd Week” on Quintessential Comedy, as we look forward to the upcoming Howerd mini biopic to close the Curse of Comedy series this Wednesday.

As a stand up comic, Howerd’s routine was apparently a ramshackle display of stories that are interrupted by Frankie’s customary asides, mini stories and direct addressing of various (fictional?) audience members.

“Ooh NO Missus!”

“Titter ye Not!”

“No, don’t it’s wicked to mock the afflicted.”

They’re all quintessential Frankie Howerd, and all dispatched over a long career with wonderful timing to a long series of willing and loving audiences. 

Howerd is of course famous for these catchphrases, as well as his very distinctive voice which has been mimicked by impressionists and students for years.  This Wednesday David Walliams portrays Howerd in final Curse of Comedy, “Rather You Than Me”, and commented after the series was announced that “Matt Lucas and I first bonded as struggling comedians over a shared love of Frankie Howerd impressions.”

Oh behave!

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They say there’s no curse, but Galton and Simpson are apparently fans of the current BBC Four series The Curse of Comedy.

Writing in The Times, they describe how Hancock wasn’t always on the bottle, how Frankie Howerd was always happy (as long as he was centre of attention) and how Steptoe and Son’s Harry H Corbett and Wilfred Brambell kept any strain strictly between themselves.

What is interesting about this is how we have been told certain things over the years about all of these individuals, but when it comes down to it, they are people, like you and I, and for the most normal people with families and loved ones.

Take Hancock, for example.  Galton and Simpson relate how he always had difficulty learning lines – being in a car collision lead to him recording an episode utilising autocue, and he never felt the need to learn another script, instead wasting his evenings drinking.

If you’re a fan of The Curse of Comedy, have a read of the article – it certainly paints the lives of these stars in a different light.

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The tortured soul that was Tony Hancock was remarkably portrayed by Ken Stott in this weeks Curse of Comedy drama on BBC Four.

Tender moments between him and his aging best friends young wife were counterpointed with a stark insight into the dark side of this most tragic of comics, who would finally succumb to depression and die following an overdose in an Australian hotel room.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Tony Hancock - viewing this masterly executed drama has, however prompted me to consider reappraising his output.

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Also on BBC Four this evening is The Frost Report is Back! a tribute to the man behind televisual satire.

It’s got quite a roll call too, with Sir David Frost – fresh from the Middle East – chatting to Ronnie Corbett, Terry Jones, Barry Cryer, Sheila Steafel, Julie Felix, Denis Norden, Sir Antony Jay, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Michael Palin, David Nobbs and John Cleese.

This is also part of the Curse of Comedy themed season of programs, and frankly the BBC are spoiling us.  Programming of this nature is what serious fans of comedy shout out for, and I hope ratings reflect the demand. 

The Frost Report is Back! premiers at 9pm, with a repeat at 1am in the morning.

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For serious fans of British Comedy, there cannot be anything more looked forward to this year than BBC Four’s Curse of Comedy series.

It kicks off this evening with The Curse of Steptoe and Son, in which Phil Davis and Jeremy Isaacs portray the stars Wilfred Bramble and Harry H Corbett, and the stresses and strains that permeated the series are revealed to audiences.

Later episodes feature the tale of Tony Hancock’s affair with best friends wife Joan le Mesurier (starring Ken Stott as Hancock); Hughie Greene’s womanising; and Frankie Howerd’s battle with depression and his sexuality (a remarkable portrayal by David Walliams).

This is going to be n award-winning series; it has quality written all over it and the clips look marvellous.

Don’t miss it.

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